Most conventional snow plows used for removing snow from a parking lot, driveway, or the like utilize a steel plow or blade mounted on the front of a pick-up truck or similar vehicle. Such blades are typically curved with a concave front surface so that when the truck travels in a forward direction, the snow is tossed in front and to the side of the blade. These blades are typically mounted on hydraulic rams which are capable of raising and lowering the blade and maintaining the blade in a selected vertical position as well as angling the blade in a horizontal plane so that the snow may be deposited selectively toward the left side or toward the right side of the vehicle. The pitch or tilt of the blade conventionally is fixed.
The foregoing type of snow plow suffers a disadvantage when used to plow driveways leading to a garage or similar building. If the vehicle is backed along the driveway until near the garage, the plow is lowered, and the vehicle is driven in a forward direction, then there will be a portion of the driveway near the garage of approximately the length of the vehicle from which the snow has not been removed. On the other hand, if the vehicle is driven forwardly along the driveway to a point adjacent to the garage, the blade is lowered, and the vehicle is backed out of the driveway, then the shape of the plow results in a very inefficient removal of snow from the driveway, only a single reverse drive gear (as opposed to several different forward drive gears) can be used, and the driver encounters a visibility problem when backing from the driveway into the road. The disadvantages of using a conventional front blade near a garage are compounded in those regions where snow frequently slides down a roof above the garage and piles (and compresses) near the garage entrance. These snow plows encounter similar problems when removing snow from parking lots, especially in the areas near entrance ways and walkways to stores and similar facilities adjoining the parking lot.